The Secret to Mental Well-being: Meditation and How to Meditate
The Secret to Mental Well-being: Meditation and How to Meditate
Meditation is a powerful tool for reducing stress, improving focus, and promoting overall well-being. Personally, I've been meditating for many months now, and it has drastically improved my mental health and reduced overall stress and anxiety in my life. But if you're new to meditation like how I was many months ago, it can be helpful to start with a few simple steps. Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to meditate:
Find a Quiet Space: Choose a quiet space where you can sit comfortably without distractions. Attempting to meditate in a noisy area is doable, but is not advised as there are many distractions, especially for beginners in meditation. You may want to use a cushion or chair to support your posture. Alternatively, you can sit with your back against the wall.
Get Comfortable: Find a comfortable seated position with your back straight and your hands resting in your lap. You may choose to close your eyes or keep them open with a soft gaze, but ideally you want to close your eyes in order to heighten your other senses for the meditation process.
Focus on Your Breath: Begin by focusing on your breath. Notice the sensation of the air moving in and out of your body. Closely examine how your breath changes when various thoughts pop up. The key here is to be observant without judgement. You may find it helpful to count your breaths, inhaling for a count of four and exhaling for a count of four. If this becomes too distracting, you can revert back to focusing on the breath one-by-one.
Stay Present: As you meditate, you may notice thoughts and distractions arising. Thoughts showing up in your mind are completely normal and are part of the meditation process. Instead of getting caught up in them, simply acknowledge them and return your focus to your breath. However, before you return your focus to your breath, briefly observe the thought. Observing the thought can give you insight in why those thoughts appear and what you can do to address them.
Set a Time Limit: Start with just a few minutes of meditation each day and gradually increase your practice over time. A good time to start with is 5 minutes if you are completely new to meditation. If 5 minutes is too much, then you can start at 1 minute. Personally, I meditate for at least 10 minutes every day. People meditate from 5 minutes to 60 minutes everyday, so you just need to find the amount of time that is most suitable to your lifestyle.
Try Guided Meditation: If you're having trouble getting started with meditation, you may want to try a guided meditation. I personally use an app called Medito (not a sponsored message), and it has everything you need for a daily guided meditation to pull you back into the meditation process when you get too distracted.
By the time you have finished your first meditation, keep in mind that meditation is a practice. It takes time and patience to develop. Don't be discouraged if your mind wanders or if you have trouble sitting still at first. With regular practice, you will definitely notice improvements in your physical and mental well-being.
Now what are you doing reading this? Go out there and meditate!
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